Michael Lee-Chin Quotes

From an early age my mother told me that there were so many of us that if I was to get anything in life I would have to get it myself. So I did.

The philosophy to 'buy and hold' is a philosophy that I use to manage funds.

My wealth came from growing businesses. I had wealth, but not liquidity. Basically I transferred illiquid shares of AIC for liquid shares of Manulife. Now I'm the biggest individual shareholder of Manulife.

You must look like a money person for clients to trust you.

My first playpen was a cardboard box.

I didn't generate my success by being a prognosticator. I developed my reputation building our businesses by building great businesses and making them more efficient.

Private equity has been the purview of super wealthy individuals and institutions.

I'm making a case against how money managers are handling customers' money. The objective of the customer is not being met if the fund managers are diversifying their assets into hundreds of businesses. If they do this, they are typically performing close to the indexes. But that's not the way wealth is created.

I wouldn't have become an engineer, I wouldn't have done what I did, had a hand not been held out to me. I have to remember who helped me when I needed help. The people of Jamaica helped me. I can't forget that. I would be ungrateful if I forgot.

The mantra of the National Commercial Bank is 'building a better Jamaica.' If this bank is going to be everlastingly successful, it has to take on the ailments of this society.

Gold is a commodity; over the long run, as we look back, it has not been a good investment. You can't look at the intrinsic value of gold as you can a business. Gold doesn't give you cash flow, and, at the end of the day, cash flow is what is important. Gold doesn't give you dividends.

Life is not linear; you have ups and downs. It's how you deal with the troughs that defines you.